Canada is a thriving market for the Ultimate Fighting Championship and the company's director of Canadian operations Tom Wright along with UFC officials work tirelessly to ensure fans across the country can and will have the opportunity to see their product.
Not only does Wright help promote upcoming UFC events -- like UFC 149 in Calgary, UFC 152 in Toronto and UFC 154 in Montreal -- but he works with the national and provincial governments to educate the masses on mixed martial arts in an attempt to get the often-misunderstood sport sanctioned everywhere in the country.
Recently, Wright and rising Canadian welterweight star Rory MacDonald were invited to Parliament Hill in Ottawa to discuss MMA in front of a senate committee that was reviewing Bill S-209 -- which passed on June 22 and will go to the House of Commons in the fall -- to change the Criminal Code to make MMA legal across Canada. Wright believes it was another positive step for the sport and the UFC north of the border.
"We were asked to come in and testify. We spoke for about five minutes and then took 55 minutes of questions from senators from across the entire country," Wright told sportsnet.ca at the Air Canada Centre earlier this week while promoting UFC 152 with MacDonald.
"I thought it was great to have an actual fighter there that could answer questions from an athlete's perspective on safety, on why it as important we have this consistent regulatory environment for our sport, the importance that there's a level playing field across the entire country."
Bill S-209 is one of many things currently on the UFC's Canadian agenda as the organization and its representatives consistently work with various councils in various jurisdictions to promote not only their company, but an entire sport.
Recently, Bill 50 passed in British Columbia that will establish a provincial athletic commissioner, which will make holding UFC and other MMA events in the province much easier than it has been.
Wright said the situation there is currently similar to the one when MMA was previously outlawed in Ontario -- in August 2010 when the Ontario government announced new legislation that would allow MMA there was a window of time before the regulations were put into effect on Jan. 1, 2011 and that's more or less the situation in B.C. right now.
"So, now the B.C. government is doing that and we're working with them, giving them advice, giving them counsel, just being a resource for them," Wright said.
MMA's future in the province looked bleak for a while, but Wright says this new legislation will help the UFC return to B.C. sooner rather than later, and possibly as early as sometime in 2013. Both UFC 115 in 2010 and UFC 131 in 2011 took place at Rogers Arena in Vancouver but the organization did not schedule an event there for 2012 because a two-year trial period for MMA had expired.
"It wasn't that we didn't want to go back to Vancouver, we couldn't."
When the UFC does finally return to B.C. it will be a positive step for the sport.
Another positive step is the fact the UFC will make its first trip to Alberta -- a longtime MMA hotspot in Canada -- in July.
The card has taken its fair share of criticism for a plethora of injuries and matchup alterations. But Wright said despite the card's setbacks fans will be happy with the product they pay for.
"It happens in our sport, it happens in any sport, team sport, individual sport. I'd be lying to you if I said I wasn't disappointed; (UFC president Dana White) and (UFC chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta) are disappointed and the fighters are disappointed. But the one thing I can absolutely guarantee you is that all the athletes that are going to be competing at UFC 149 in Calgary on July 21st are world-class athletes, we have former champions (on the card), these guys will perform and it's going to be a great event and come Sunday morning they're going to be asking when we're coming back."
Up until now the UFC has exclusively held Canadian events in major cities but in the near future the UFC will be bringing events to smaller Canadian markets. They will need to continue to promote the sport in front of different politicians and in council meetings, but that's something Wright and the UFC are ready to do.
For example, if and when the UFC decides to hold an event in Saskatchewan the UFC will have to go through a similar process as they have in B.C. because there is no provincial athletic commission in Saskatchewan.
"We're covered in the other major provinces. Newfoundland and Labrador does not have one, Prince Edward Island doesn't either, and I think in time we would still work with those jurisdictions," Wright explained, "because ultimately having all 10 provinces and all three territories with a consistent regulatory environment helps our sport.
"And what helps our sport is self-serving and it will help (the UFC) but it will still help our sport. I can't see us taking a numbered pay-per-view event to Sunnyside, Prince Edward Island, but there may well be professional events that need to happen there."
Wright confirmed that there will be some non-PPV Canadian events in 2013 and although next year's schedule is not finalized fans can expect some shows in cities outside of Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver.
"We're just putting the final touches on the 2013 schedule. It's too early to announce it (but) we'll announce things sooner than some people think."
According to Wright, it's not guaranteed that the UFC will return to Calgary in 2013 but it is confirmed that Toronto and Montreal will host events in 2013 and 2014.
The former Canadian Football League commissioner also added that he expects to see TUF Canada happen in 2013 as well.
"Every time you do a TUF you're going to learn something new so there will be tweaks that will happen. We're going to go back to the original format … When we do one in Canada it will be the old (pre-taped) format."
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ReplyDeleteWright confirmed that there will be some non-PPV Canadian events in 2013 and although next year's schedule is not finalized fans can expect some shows in cities outside of Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver.